Topic: Sports Bars

No one really talks about loving sports bars. Very few of us actually do, and for very good reason. And yet these shabby, TV-jammed places are where we go to get something we need, and so something like home.

America's Greatest Fans, or whatever St. Louis Cardinals fans call themselves these days, have their own roost in New York City: Foley's, a bar in the non-neighborhood around the Empire State Building that's transformed into a bustling, red-clad scene during every Cardinals game. It's a unique scene—and a very different place once the Cardinals are out of the playoffs.

Dean Smith and Jack Keane wanted to host club soccer fans at bars in New York City. By bringing together fans of different loyalties and backgrounds, they got closer to recreating the communal atmosphere of real stadiums than English pubs ever have.

The last decade has seen an explosion of gay sports bars in America's large cities: Crew in Chicago, Gym Bar and Boxers in New York, Woofs in Atlanta, Sidelines in Ft. Lauderdale, and more. These bars are a coming out party for a long-standing subculture of out fans—and athletes—that have been trapped between competing stereotypes for decades. And on the business front, their success is undeniable.